Tere O’Connor is a Center for Advanced Studies Professor in Dance at the University of Illinois and the Artistic Director of Tere O’Connor Dance in NYC. He has created over 45 works for his company, touring them extensively in the United States, Europe, Canada and South America. He has created many commissioned works for other companies; among these are works for the Lyon Opera Ballet and a solo for Mikhail Baryshnikov. He received a 2013 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. He is a 2009 United States Artist Rockefeller Fellow, a Guggenheim fellow and has received numerous other grants and awards throughout his career. He has won three BESSIES (New York Dance and Performance Awards.) In 2014, O’Connor was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. An articulate and provocative educator, he has taught at festivals and universities around the globe. He divides his time between Champaign and New York City, where he has worked with his company, taught and mentored young artists for the last 42 years.
